5 Types of Lizards in Indiana: How to Identify Them and Where They Live
September 28, 2026
Most Hoosiers go their whole lives without noticing a single lizard, and that’s not surprising. Among the many types of snakes in Indiana, lizards are the far quieter cousins, and the state’s cooler climate limits how many species can survive here year-round.
Understanding the types of lizards in Indiana starts with a simple fact: the Hoosier Herpetological Society notes that lizards are Indiana’s rarest reptile group, with just six native species calling the state home, most found in the warmer, sandier, and rockier corners of southern Indiana.
Five of those species show up often enough that a curious hiker, gardener, or backyard naturalist has a real shot at spotting one. This guide walks through each of those five lizards native to Indiana, covering how to tell them apart, where they live, and what makes each one worth a second look.
1. Eastern Fence Lizard
The eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) is one of the more textured-looking lizards you’ll find crawling along a log or fence post in southern Indiana. Its rough, keeled scales give it a spiny, almost armored appearance that separates it instantly from the state’s smooth-scaled skinks. Coloring runs from gray to brown, often with a mottled or barred pattern that blends seamlessly into bark and leaf litter.
These lizards are active hunters that rely on quick sprints rather than patience. Eastern fence lizards primarily feed on insects like beetles, ants, spiders, and small caterpillars, with a hunting style that is active but patient, involving quick sprints to snatch prey. That diet does double duty for the ecosystem, since their diet helps maintain balance in woodland ecosystems by reducing insect populations.
In terms of range, these lizards are most common in the southern and central regions of Indiana where dry, wooded environments are widespread, and their adaptability allows them to survive near human structures, especially in rural areas with abundant fence lines and sunlit clearings. If you want to catch one out in the open, timing matters. Bird Watching HQ notes that you’ll likely find the eastern fence lizard in southern Indiana in open forests with plenty of fallen logs and debris to hide in, and they’re most active during the early morning before it gets too hot.
Pro Tip: Scan horizontal logs and fence rails slowly in the first few hours after sunrise. Fence lizards bask to warm up before the day’s heat arrives, making early morning the best window for a sighting.
2. Common Five-Lined Skink
If you’ve ever spotted a lizard darting across a Hoosier porch, there’s a strong chance it was a common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus). The Indiana Herp Atlas describes it as the most widespread lizard in Indiana and easily the most frequently encountered, which makes it the default entry point for anyone starting to learn Indiana lizard identification.
What throws most people off is how differently juveniles and adults look. These skinks are familiar to most people only by their juvenile coloration: juveniles are black with bright white-yellow stripes and a vibrant blue tail that serves as a lure, a feature that has earned this skink the misnomer “blue-tailed skink” across much of North America. As they mature, that flashy look fades. Adult five-lined skinks lose this vibrant coloration in favor of a more cryptic gray-brown background color and faded dark stripes, and males in breeding condition develop slightly enlarged red heads.
Size-wise, five-lined skinks grow to around six to eight inches from nose to tail tip, though the blue-tailed juveniles are much smaller. Bernard’s Pest adds that these lizards can be found throughout most of Indiana, with the highest densities occurring in the southern and central regions, and they are active from April through October. The species’ range stretches well beyond Indiana’s borders too, reaching south into states covered in our guide to the lizard species found in Georgia.
Key Insight: Many people confuse skinks with salamanders because of their shiny, smooth-scaled look. The giveaway is behavior: skinks are sun-loving and active on warm, dry days, while salamanders favor cool, damp conditions and rainy nights.
3. Broad-Headed Skink
The broad-headed skink (Plestiodon laticeps) is the five-lined skink’s bulkier relative, and it holds the title of Indiana’s largest skink. SnakeTracks confirms that broad-headed skinks, seen curled up on rocks in Floyd County, Indiana, are another five-lined skink species and the biggest skinks in Indiana. That size becomes obvious quickly if you find one basking, since adults dwarf the common five-lined skinks sharing the same woodlots.
Habitat preference is where this species really sets itself apart from the rest of Indiana’s lizards. You can find broad-headed skinks in moist forest areas with hollow trees and plenty of ground leaves and fallen logs, and they favor oak forests, especially those near a waterbody. Unlike most Indiana lizards that stay ground-level, this species climbs. These giant lizards are the most arboreal skinks in Indiana, and you will often find them basking on high tree branches in the wild.
Reptile keepers occasionally raise broad-headed skinks in captivity, and the same care principles that apply to other types of pet reptiles hold true here. Enclosures need room to move and climb, since these lizards spend so much time off the ground in the wild.
| Species | Typical Size | Preferred Habitat | Standout Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Fence Lizard | 4-7 inches | Dry, open woodlands with logs and fences | Rough, keeled scales |
| Common Five-Lined Skink | 6-9 inches | Statewide, highest densities in southern/central IN | Blue-tailed juveniles |
| Broad-Headed Skink | Up to 13 inches | Oak forests near water, hollow trees | Largest and most arboreal skink |
| Six-Lined Racerunner | Up to 10 inches | Sandy prairies, open fields, beaches | Extreme speed |
| Western Slender Glass Lizard | 2-3 feet | Grasslands in northwestern Indiana | Legless, snake-like body |
4. Six-Lined Racerunner
True to its name, the six-lined racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineata) is built for speed rather than stealth. Bernard’s Pest describes it as a lizard named for the six distinctive yellowish-white stripes running the length of its body, growing long and slender up to 10 inches, and true to its name, very speedy — if approached, it will zip away rapidly across the ground. Its tail adds to that streamlined look, since their long tails can be twice the length of their bodies.
Habitat tells you exactly where to look. Racerunners prefer hot, open habitats like fields, prairies, and beaches with sandy soil, where they can be observed basking on rocks, logs, and other exposed surfaces early in the day, becoming very active and fast-moving as temperatures rise. Population-wise, this species isn’t evenly spread. Ownyardlife notes that their populations are patchy but stable, often forming strongholds in areas with sandy soils or restored prairie landscapes, a pattern similar to what shows up in the sandier stretches covered in our look at the lizard species found in Texas.
Geographically, these lizards range across the southern half of Indiana, with the highest populations found from the central region southward. If you’re hiking a restored prairie preserve in that part of the state on a warm afternoon, keep your eyes on open, sun-baked ground rather than dense woods.
Common Mistake: Assuming any fast-moving striped lizard is a six-lined racerunner. Young five-lined skinks can also move quickly and show pale stripes, so check the habitat first — racerunners stick to open, sandy ground rather than shaded forest floors.
5. Western Slender Glass Lizard
Of all the types of lizards in Indiana, the western slender glass lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus attenuatus) causes the most confusion because it doesn’t look like a lizard at all. The Indiana Herp Atlas puts it plainly: not all legless reptiles in Indiana are snakes, and these unique lizards have glossy-smooth scales and can be distinguished from snakes readily by their external ear openings and eyelids, since they can blink. Coloring is understated. Most slender glass lizards are brown to tan with dark stripes from head to tail tip at mid-body and laterally, with diffuse dark spots on the side of the head.
The name comes from a defense mechanism, not fragile bones. These legless lizards get their name from being “fragile” like glass, since when picked up they readily break off part or all of their tail, and their tails are not simply easy to accidentally pull off — the animal can, and often will, fracture the tail itself. Given how much of the body is tail, the slender glass lizard may appear to break in half when picked up or even touched, and adults may reach two to three feet in overall length, making this Indiana’s largest lizard.
Range-wise, this species sits at the edge of its territory in Indiana. Animal Diversity Web notes that the eastern-most point of the western slender glass lizard’s range is western Indiana, which explains why sightings cluster in the northwestern part of the state rather than statewide. That edge-of-range status also affects its conservation outlook in neighboring states.
According to Wikipedia, although not federally endangered in the United States, the slender glass lizard is listed as vulnerable in Iowa and was listed as endangered in Wisconsin in 1979. In Indiana itself, the species isn’t state-listed, but its habitat — open grassland — is under the same development pressure documented in states like Florida’s lizard population, home to a closely related glass lizard species.
Important Note: Because glass lizards are so easily mistaken for snakes, they’re sometimes killed out of unwarranted fear. Every native Indiana lizard, including this one, is harmless to humans and best left undisturbed if encountered.
Habitat loss is the primary long-term concern for the species range-wide. The main factor threatening slender glass lizards is conversion of their habitats for human use, primarily as suitable grasslands are converted to heavy-use agricultural lands that are no longer suitable for these lizards. That trend makes remaining prairie remnants in northwestern Indiana disproportionately important for the species’ long-term survival in the state.
These five species cover the lizards most Hoosiers are likely to encounter, but they aren’t the whole picture. Indiana’s sixth native lizard, the tiny little brown skink (Scincella lateralis), rounds out the list — it’s easy to miss thanks to its small size and habit of hiding in leaf litter. There’s also a newer, non-native arrival to watch for: the common wall lizard, first documented by state biologists along the Ohio River.
Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources reports that in July of 2023, DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife biologists located a colony of common wall lizards during surveys near Lawrenceburg, observing an estimated 20 to 35 wall lizards of various ages living in a rock-lined embankment bordering the Ohio. Because there is some concern among herpetologists that common wall lizards may outcompete native species like common five-lined skinks for food and shelter, the DNR asks residents to report sightings.
Whether you’re identifying a fence lizard on a woodpile or a glass lizard mistaken for a snake, the same rule applies across every native Indiana reptile: observe from a distance and let them go about their business. For a broader sense of how these species compare to lizard populations elsewhere, the guides on lizards native to Tennessee and other neighboring states offer useful context on shared ranges and habits. And if watching reptiles in the wild has you curious about Indiana’s other backyard residents, our guides to the state’s owls, bats, butterflies, and pigeons round out a fuller picture of the wildlife sharing your yard.